


Cyberformed

by salt



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Character Death, Derailed canon, Plot, Violence, humans as pets, humans r gross
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-16 07:01:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2260350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salt/pseuds/salt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Earth has been lost, the Autobots have fallen and life has been wiped from the planet, save for few taken captive for experiments. The surviving Autobots struggle to remember a better time and the Decepticons fuck around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> salt: dont knock it before you try it
> 
> conrad: please dont touch knock out 
> 
> Time measurements used in this fic are as sort of as close as we could get it to canon?? But here is a chart for your convenience. 
> 
> 1 Second - Astrosecond  
> 1 Minute - Klik  
> 1 Hour - Cycle  
> 1 Day - Orbitalcycle  
> 4 Days - Megacycle  
> 1 Week - Orn  
> 1 Month - Decacycle  
> 7 Months - Stellercycle  
> 1 Year - MetaCycle

  
It felt like only yesterday that Optimus and the rest of his team had been at the base together, enjoying an average day. Miko and Raf playing video games while Bumblebee watched, Jack out for ride with Arcee. Bulkhead and Wheeljack playing lob while Smokescreen chattered away to Optimus. Ratchet busying himself, looking for anything unusual on the scanners...

But this... Where he was now, Optimus had never expected this.   
  
Chained to the walls of a securely kept cell, completely unarmed with nothing to do but let the flashbacks of the recent megacycles events play through his processor again and again... and again.... and again...  
  
*  
After the chances of reviving Cybertron had been extinguished and Megatron's fortress had been mounted on Earth, it wasn't long before the Autobots were overwhelmed, their forces scattered and their base destroyed. Optimus had been in the center of the blast that destroyed their base, nearly offlinling in the process. Which he would have... If the Decepticons had not found him. The prime barely remembered Megatron's sneer as his crumbling body was dragged from the reckage.   
  
"Still online are you? I knew you still had some fight left. I'll be sure to rid you of that."  
  
After that point, everything was dark until he awoke in a medbay aboard the Nemesis. His limbs firmly locked down with his helm securly held in an upright position where he had a clear view of the screen in front of him. His sparked ached at what he saw.   
  
His team, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee, Rachet, Smokescreen and even Wheeljack all fought strong in a wide radius near what could have been the remains of their old base.  
  
"Ah, waking up are we?"   
  
Optimus's optics flashed to the red mech standing to his left. He tried to find the energy to speak- to move to- anything. But every shift of his gears caused wrenching pain to shoot through his circuits.   
  
"Now now, no need to get worked up. You wouldn't want to miss this special feature." Knockout grinned, looking back to the screen. He had wanted to take part in the battle himself, but Megatron had assigned him to watch the captured Prime. It wouldn't do to have him offline while they were out... taking care of business.   
  
Knockout comm'd Megatron, turning away from Optimus. :: _He's awake, my Lord._ ::  
  
:: _Good. Ensure he watches the show we've prepared for him._ :: Came the response.  
  
Optimus's spark may have flickered out there and then, because the next addition to the battlefield, were three small figures. Jack, Miko and Raf.  
  
The moment the humans were pulled into the fray, the Autobots stopped.   
  
No.  
  
He was unable to move, he was helpless, trapped miles above the conflict on the ground.   
  
No!  
  
Megatron held a stafflike prod, and he could see the energon sparking around the pointed tip.   
  
"Megatron wanted me to pass along the message, that though he doesn't fully intend on making the humans suffer... He does want to make this as painful as possible for you and all your little Autobot friends." Knockout gave a sick smile. "I do hope there's no hard feelings."  
  
Optimus screamed with his last ounce of energy as he watched Megatron lower the prod, forcing him to watch his team; his family, fall.   
  
*  
  
The heartwrenching wail of static that left Bumblebee echoed through the canyon as Raf's outreached arm fell, his lifeless body slumping to the ground. The yellow scout's audio sensors cut out. He tore away from his captor and rushed at Megatron, grief and rage jumbling inside him. It was then he saw Bulkhead running for Miko, Insecticons charging the massive Autobot. His step slowed.   
  
Arcee sped towards Jack, not even getting within arms length before Starscream himself had speared the human through. The Seeker sneered down at the femme.  
  
"Just like Cliffjumper, Hmm?" He cackled as Arcee let out a yowl of anguish before she was overwhelmed by the crowding army of Decepticons.   
  
Bumblebee saw his friends being brought down before he even had the time to choose who to assist. He searched the area for the rest of his friends, Wheeljack was no where to be seen, Rachet was being swarmed just as he was and he could see Starscream heading over to where Smokescreen was trying to tear Insecticons off of Arcee. He paused just for an instant but thats all that was needed to have himself surrounded by the Decepticons. He let out a string of trills to Smokescreen before he was shoved down into the dust.   
  
He tried to fight back against the swarm but it was too much for him to overcome.   
  
Moments later the very weapon that had been used on Raf came down on the yellow scout, the shocks coursing through his wiring. Bumblebee felt himself slipping away as his circuits fried. This couldn't be the end. He wouldn't let the Decpeticons get away with what they had done.   
  
He wouldn't let it be the end. He couldn't.  
  
For Raf, he wouldn't give up.   
  
*  
Optimus was jolted alert when he heard the sound of the door opening. He crained his neck to see who could possibly be visiting at his time. To his surprise, it was Starscream.   
  
The Seeker stepped only breifly into the room, speaking to himself as though the Autobots were not there, though he was hardly given the same treatment.   
Bumblebee, enraged and wild in the cell next to Optimus, threw himself at the side of his cell, letting out a string of static screeches and profanities which Starscream merely ignored.   
  
"This here, is the Brig. As you can see we keep only the most unstable bots in here." Starscream spoke as though he was giving a tour, addressing something at his pedes . He sent a scowl at the shriecking scout.   
  
"Stop your static. You're lucky you got to keep you're vocalizer this time. What's left of it anyways..." He sneered.   
Bumblebee only pulled harder at his restraints.  
  
"Bumblebee, stop." Optimus's voice was weak but firm and the Scout let out a broken sob as he continued to fight his chains.   
  
"Let's leave them to their misery." Starscream rolled his optics and left the room, the secure doors sliding shut.   
  
Lets...? The Prime had not seen anyone else with the Seeker, though perhaps his focus had been somewhat spotty. It had only been about two orns since... since the incident and he, Bumblebee and Rachet had been dragged into the fortress as prisoners. Though they had not seen Rachet for megacycles...   
  
A wave of despair washed through his spark and Optimus slouched in his chains. So many, lost... Arcee and Bulkhead were overwhelmed, he had seen it over the monitor and Bumblebee... Bumblebee had been there.   
  
Optimus looked at the black and yellow scout, thrashing in his cell.  
  
They had both changed, how could they not have? Optimus stayed quiet and refused to speak to anyone but Megatron, hoping that he may listen to reason. Bumblebee... Bumblebee had not only watched his friends die but he had been there and he had experienced every agonized cry the humans made and every wrenching sound of Cybertronian frames being ripped apart. The scout had become wild with anger, spending every astrosecond trying to rip himself from his bonds until he had no energy left.   
  
At first Optimus couldn't stand the sound of the Scout in such pain, but at this point, the most painful cycles were the ones when the young mech was silent. When his strength was gone and all he could do was relive the past and ask himself what he could have done differently.   
  
The Prime offlined his optics as his remaining teammate carried on next to him.   
  
Just another recharge to the chaotic chorus of despair.   
  
*


	2. Taken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> salt: hahahah fUCK

  "I can't believe I'm stuck wandering this planet with you of all cons." Starscream growled, large heeled pedes glided through the abandoned streets of what was once a populated city.

  "Hey at least Shockwave himself didn't want to come down to look for specimens. I'm sure that would have been twice as thrilling." Knockout walked behind the Second-in-Command along with a couple of Starscream's Seeker army.

  "I don't understand why I'm the one doing this ridiculous mission anyways." The Seeker muttered.

  "Didn't Megatron say something about suspecting there were still humans trying to survive? That's the whole reason we're down here isn't it? To find some test subjects before they run out of Oxygen." Knock out explained, looking through the window of a taller building.

Starscream paused and peered back at the red mech.

  "Oxygen?"

  "Humans need it to breath, and essentially, live. Cyberforming Earth caused all their natural Oxygen supplying lifeforms to die or... something along those lines." Knockout sighed as Starscream continued onward, obviously not listening. "But you don't care do you."

  "Not in the slightest. I'll never understand your interest in the fleshy things."

  "I wouldn't call it interest in them per say, but I can understand why Shockwave wants to experiment on them. I'd just prefer not to touch the squishy things." Knockout said thoughtfully as he examined a particularly nice sports car. "And they do have nice taste in Automobiles."

Starscream groaned and rolls his optics.

  "So you've said." The four mechs approached what could have once been assumed to be a large park, but now the trees were dead and the grass had turned brown and crumbled into dust. 

There had been no sign of movement since they had left Megatrons fortress, but approaching his park the Decepticons were practically handed what they were looking for.

  "Stop right there!" A voice called up to them, amplified by some form of speaker. Knock out and Starscream looked down at the puny human form, decorated in armor and equipped with a pathetic excuse for a gun. The face mask was also another accessory the human wore, obviously the Earth's air was already too toxic for them to stand.

  "Be you Autobot or Decepticon?"

Starscream laughed and took an easy stride forward.

  "I'll give you a hint." He pointed the missile on his arm directly at the human. The small form threw down his speaker and fired at the towering Seeker who was practically disgusted by the mere attempt to harm them.  
Before he fired they were suddenly aware of a small crowd of the humans pooling out of a tiny building in the corner of the park, all carrying guns and wildly firing at the Decepticons. These bullets however, wouldn't even scratch the Cybertronian plating. Though they did notice several military jets racing towards them.

  "What a pain. Knock out, Seekers, Deal with these pests." Starscream didn't mind his step as he very possibly crushed a few of the humans while walking over to the shed. The Seekers transformed and took to the sky to engage the jets that began to fire at them.

  "Aren't we here to collect humans, not kill them?" Knock out's words followed Starscream as he easily overcame the grounded humans. What had they been thinking? They might as well have just walked outside without their air-masks and let the 'Cons watch them suffocate.

  "If they wish to die, who are we to stop them?" Starscream grinned back at the red mech, leaning down to rip the roof off the building. Inside was a staircase, leading down inside the Earth... Underneath the field.

  "Prepare the containers Knock out." The Seeker commanded and pointed his missile at the ground, seconds later he had fired into the center of the field, the dry earth crumbling and giving way, showing a now dented metal container buried maybe twenty feet down. He felt the sting of firing on his back plating as the jet's directed their attention back towards him and Knock out, and growled as he lifted his left arm, firing his second missile at the offending jet.

  "Two in one day? On humans?" Knock out chided, pulling out multiple disks which then extended into small carriers equipped with oxygen supplements.

  "Shut up. Lets just get this done with." Starscream reached over and dug his pointed digits into the metal, bending it easily with a painful screech and ripping a hole in the container. Screams of terror immediately ripped through the air as they were given a clear view of the dozens of humans hiding inside. With the toxic air flowing in, they wouldn't have much time. Knock out moved the Seeker out of the way and dropped one of the containers into the bunker. 

  "If any of you don't want to die from lack of air I suggest you hop in." It didn't take long for the first desperate few to run into the offered container. The adults who parented younglings mostly.

Now face masks had been deployed among the humans and those who were not threatended by the lack of air were running deeper into the underground building and escaping up through the roofless shed.

  "Keep it up, I'll go after those ones." Starscream huffed and grabbed one of containers, turning back towards the small building. This was such a petty task for someone of his caliber. He thunked down the container on one side and blocked another side with his pede.

  "Going somewhere, insects?"

Below him the escaping humans screamed, most of them continuing to try to run or falling to the ground in fear. Though one seemed to stand facing him, male if he guessed correctly.

  "We're not insects. We're people. Humans with thoughts and lives. You cannot do this." He called up.

Starscream cackled at it's insolence and leaned down to look at the human.

  "Watch me."

With that the Seeker distastefully picked up the nearest human which had been pounding its fists against his pede and flung it at one of the buildings framing the park. It barely took an ounce of effort, but the sickening crunch of each bone breaking wasn't one that was easily missed. A particularly loud shriek of terror brought his attention back down to the humans at his pedes.

The one who had spoken had fallen back, staring at the stain where the fleshing had hit the building, but next to him now was a slimmer one, collapsed down on its knees, with its head pressed into the dirt as though it were... Bowing.

  "Please! Please don't hurt us! You are obviously so much stronger and faster than us, we can't hope to stand against you so please don't hurt us! We know how weak we are _please_!" It begged and the humans around it seemed to stare at it in horror.

  "It's nice to see at least one of you knows your place." Starscream smirked, leaning down to get a better look of the bowing human.

It was shaking violently, it's face still protected by the air-mask that wrapped around it's head but at the level it's intake was going the oxygen supplements the mask carried wouldn't last long.

  "Listen to me, human. If you can assist me in getting the rest of your kind into our containment units, I can promise you a special treatment on the journey back." He sneered down at the human who looked up at him with a shocked expression. It nodded enthusiastically and jumped to it's feet.

  "C-Come on, Come on!" It's voice was wavering at first and the Seeker wondered if this human was capable of doing what he asked. But it slowly stepped up, impressing him further. "Do you really want to die of slowly suffocating? We can't outrun them. We can't defeat them. They're offering us air!"

  "Look what they've done to our planet!" An elderly human shouted.

  "They're going to kill us!" Another cried.

The obedient human faltered again.

  "If we wanted you dead we would have already killed you." Knock out spoke up, coming up behind Starscream with two containers filled with humans, some banging their tiny fists against the walls. The two members of the Seeker army had disposed of the military offences and were also each carrying a container, however displeased.

  "E-Exactly!" The human agreed. The rest of the crowd looked around fearfully, some crying and many slowly trudging over to the open container.

  "Look's like you've handled these ones." Knock out noted as he watched them.

  "Of course I have. Hand me one of the individual containers will you..." Starscream mumbled and the red mech peered at him curiously before doing as he said.  
The seeker brought his servo down in front of the helpful human before it could also move into the container. Immediately it swung around, blue eye's wide with fear.

  "Oh- Oh god please- I did as you said! I helped you please! I'm sorry! Don't kill me! I'll do anything!" It once again flung itself down onto the ground.

This time Starscream laughed. "Begging for it's life... How pathetic."

  "You're one to talk." Knock out quipped. The Second-in-Command turned his helm to glare furiously at the mech behind him.

  "You watch your vocalizer in the presence of your superior." He snarled.

  "Of course, My apologizes, Commander." Knock out smirked. Starscream growled before directing his attention back towards the human. He could deal with the insolent medic later. He activated the much smaller container and opened it up for the human below him.

  "You will travel with me, I'd hate to lose something obedient among that crowd of pests." 

  "Oh god, Oh thank you. Thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you C- Commander- thank you!" It picked up the title spoken by Knock out and Starscream wondered something briefly. He leaned down, whispering to the human.

  "Call me Lord." He growled.

It shrieked in fear and bowed it's head.

  "O-Of course! Lord! Of course my Lord!" It stammered and Starscream grinned. Perhaps this human could stick around.

Finally it climbed into the small container and the four mechs began their treks back to Darkmount. Knock out shot the Seeker a questioning gaze, glancing from him to the separated human.

  "What?" The larger mech hissed.

  "Nothing, nothing... I suppose I just never expected you of all mechs to want a human pet." Knock out watched the Seeker's reactions.

  "What! Pet? Ridiculous, I'm interested in doing my own experiments as well." He huffed, wings flicking.

  "Of course, your own experiments..." Knock out scoffed.

  
*

  
Once they had arrived back at Darkmount, they headed straight for the level in which Shockwave had one of his many laboratories. Starscream had been pondering quite a few things while they made their way there, most of them involving the tiny human that he carried in one servo. He paused.

  "Knock out you carry on without me I need to... Return to my chambers. Urgently." He handed the larger containment unit he carried to one of the Seekers behind him.

  "What, with the human?" Knock out noted, watching the squishy thing try to keep it's balance in the small container.

  "This one is for my own personal experiments, I'll have no more questions from you!" He growled.

Knock out shrugged as he turned away.

  "Alright... Megatron won't be pleased about it though."

Starscream's wings twitched and he glanced back at The red mech and the confused Seekers.

  "Well- What he doesn't know won't hurt him." He said quickly. "Got it?" He added with a threatening tone, causing the Seekers to straighten nervously.

  "Yes Commander!"

The Second-in-Command shot a look to Knock out who merely shrugged.

  "My radio is silent."

  "It better be." Starscream let out a low growl before turning to march down the hallway, his human in tow.

Knock out turned back to the looming entrance into Shockwave's lab. Ugh, how intimidating could a bot get? Though after seeing how easily his Superior had snuck off with one of the humans his own curiosity had risen.

  "You two go ahead without me, all you need to do is drop them off. I'll be right behind you..." He told the two Seekers who seemed nervous to approach the lab alone. "I'm not too thrilled with interacting with the one optic'ed wonder either but, well, better you first than me."

He put his two containers down as the Seekers stumbled over and through the door. Once it had slid closed, the red mech gave a cautious look around before leaning down to examine the humans. They cried various "let us out!"'s and "Don't hurt us"'s as he peered at them. 

  "Quiet. I have an important question to ask of you and if one of you has a good answer, I might let you out." He offered at the humans grew silent, save for a few that were still crying. They waited, many of them with ambition in their tiny optics, ready answer to their best ability.

  "Do any of you know anything about cars?"  
  


 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been made aware my pacing is shitty aand i'm going to try to get better at it, but i'm too impatient to look over this chapter anymore. i hope you enjoyed all the same <3


	3. Cain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we meet the piece of shit we will come to love.
> 
> maybe.
> 
> probably not.

  "That floor was occupied by Shockwave's lab, though he only comes here for specific experiments, he's usually off in his own mountain somewhere." The massive robot spoke dismissively as he carried the tiny human through hallways upon hallways, giving brief descriptions of what was behind each door they passed.

She was stuck, swinging back and forth inside this container that the giant robot carried in his hand. When she'd first been trapped in the tiny casing she had been sucking in air like she'd run a marathon but now she had managed to steady herself and pay more attention to where she was being taken.

  "Where are we going?" She stammered, trying to look up at her captor. He glanced down at her with a glare and she averted her eyes.

  "M-My Lord..." She added.

  "To my chambers. No one can know I've separated you from the other test subjects. Got it?" The robot growled, a metallic hiss echoed in his voice. What were these ones called... Decepticons? That's what the guards protecting her on Earth had said.

  "Y-Yes my Lord." Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why had he separated her from the rest? He told the red one he wanted her for his own experiments... The thought made a tremor of fear pass through her body. Though, something about her seemed to interest him, why else would she had been chosen instead of one of the others? Was it because of how she had so eagerly helped the robots collect her and the other humans? A strange kind of confidence bubbled up inside her. 

  "And behind there is where the prisoners are kept..."

  "Prisoners?" She called up to him, staring back at the massive door. More robots? Robot prisoners? What had they done? How were they kept? How could they contain the other robots...

  "What, interested?" He smirked down at her and she shuddered as he paused by the door.

  "I suppose you could see what happens to those who oppose us."

He put down her container down next to his foot and typed in a code to open the door. The small human watched the door slide open, scanning the area inside.   
The room was gigantic, large enough to probably house dozens of the giant robots, but there were only two cells active inside. The blue glowing walls came up and around similar to the containment unit she was in... However she was not treated the same way as the robots inside these ones were.

Their hands were bound together and locked tight against the ceiling of the cell and their feet were chained down as well by blue glowing bonds. The larger red and blue one held still in his restraints, eyes steady on her robot beside her. In the cell next to him however... The black and yellow bot writhed and threw himself at the side of his cell, letting out a string of static screeches and beeps.

  "This here, is the Brig. As you can see we keep only the most unstable bots in here." The flying robot that had brought her here scowled at the one that thrashed in its cell.

  "Stop your static. You're lucky you got to keep your vocalizer this time. What's left of it anyways..." He sneered and she had to cover her ears when the bee colored robot shrieked.

  "Bumblebee, stop"

The voice was low and firm, and the struggling one (named bumblebee obviously) let out a low trill as he continued to fight and pull. It could have been described as heartbreaking... if she could find it in her heart to feel for the massive robots. Though she did wonder what these robots had done to get themselves stuck in here...

  "Let's leave them to their misery." Suddenly clawed fingers were once again picking up her container and she was lifted off the ground, the door sliding closed on the view of the two robots inside. She stayed silent the rest of the walk to the Decepticon's chambers, taking in everything she saw, though the hallways were all quite similar. 

  "Because of my rank, my chambers are kept only a couple level's below Megatron's." The robot said smugly as they arrived in what she assumed to be his room. He typed in the code, the door slid open and she was brought inside.

  "W-Whose Megatron?" She squeaked nervously.

The robot faltered slightly, as though he was remembering something. She stumbled inside her container as he lifted it to place it on the surface of something that resembled a desk.

  "No one. No one important, _I'm_ all you need to worry about." She let out a yelp of fear as leaned in close to stare at her, pressing herself against the side of the container.

  "Y-Yes my Lord!"

  "You may call me Lord Starscream." He stood back to full height, moving away from the desk towards a strange, flat, angled surface.

  "You have been given the privilege to have a chance at a second life, fleshling. You will serve me to your best capacity and do whatever I say, if you wish to remain alive." He turned to look at her again, leaning his weight onto one leg somewhat casually, but every aspect of him was still intimidating as fuck. 

  "Y-Yes Lord Starscream! I will do anything you say." She nodded eagerly, fear causing her to shake but there was excitement there as well. She wasn't dead. She was alive and as long as she did what Starscream did she would stay that way. She could do that.

Although considering how small she was she wondered what on Earth she could possibly do for the giant robot. Suddenly she felt a little less confidant.

  "-are you called?"

She realized a little too late she was being spoken to. She jolted.

  "S-Shit- What?" 

  "What are you called, fleshling?" Starscream scowled.

She swallowed nervously.

  "O-Oh- Oh my name! Uh-" She hesitated nervously as a thought crossed her mind, then quickly continued.

  "Cain! Cain like- like cane sugar except spelled with like- an I and without an E and uh-" She broke off as she looked at the Decepticon's looming gaze.

  "Cain! M-my name is Cain."

  "Well Cain, welcome to DarkMount." Starscream leaned over and tapped the latch on her container causing it to click open. Immediately she let out a gasping breath and scrambled for the discarded air mask at her feet. What the heck was he doing- She thought he didn't want her dead!

"Relax, we've had humans aboard our ship before, the air in the fortress is no different. It is sustainable for you fleshlings."

She had been holding one hand tightly over her mouth and one around her throat, dramatically collapsed to the floor of the container when he spoke. She took a breath and looked down, slowly raising up to her knees. Yep. Air was definitely breathable. Wow M.. Cain, fucking smooth.

She cleared her throat and brushed herself off as she got to her feet again, stepping out of the container. Starscream rolled his eyes and moved to activate some sort of super futuristic touch screen thing on the back of the desk. Bizarre symbols and radar-like things popped up in front of him.

Now that she didn't feel like she was about to be viciously murdered she took in everything. The unique purple coloring of the room, the strange lights that illuminated it, the symbols and shapes that made the screen Starscream was tapping at... Incredible.   
She also examined the Decepticon that had brought her here. In comparison to the couple she had already seen, Starscream was much sleeker. She also couldn't help but be fascinated by the wings on his back, that seemed to be capable of moving rather than just staying mounted against his robo-plating. She snickered quietly as she noted that the robot's feet resembled high heels. Oh yeah, scary as fuck.   
She caught the glint of those claws as that tapped away though, and was quickly reminded of lady that had been brutally thrown into a building earlier that day. She took a deep breath. Time to prove her usefulness. 

She wandered closer to the side of the desk where Starscream worked.

  "Is there anyway I can serve you, my Lord?" She put on her best butler voice.

He looked away from the screen, his red eyes landing on her.

  "Not specifically at this moment, but I did have a few questions."

Oh right, he wanted to experiment on her too didn't he. Shit.

  "O-Of course, my Lord."

The Decepticon took a step to the side so he faced her and leaned down again. 

  "I am wondering what those pieces of metal are doing in your face. I was under the impression you were made out of an organic material that didn't have any metal aspects."

Cain blinked.

  "What- Oh... these? My piercings?" She pointed at the snakebite studs under her lips and then the ring on her eyebrow.

  "You appear to have them on your audials as well, what purpose do they give?"

She trembled under such close watch from the massive robot.

  "T-They're just for decoration- they don't really serve a purpose other than uh, looking cool. Not all humans have them." She explained nervously.

  "So you purposefully pierce your already fragile fleshy skin?" Starscream looked confused and somewhat disgusted. Cain felt a figurative light bulb go off above her head and she steadied her voice.

  "Actually, piercings are a test of pain tolerance. Yeah, they're for decoration but only the strongest of humans get them." She felt a timid smirk pulling at her lips and she placed her hands on her hips in hopes to feign confidence.

  "You get your ears done first. Snake bites," She pointed at them. "are the true test, they represent ambition and bravery! And of course... willingness to obey orders." She added with a sly smile.

  "Oh really? Not many of the humans seemed to have these add-ons." Starscream seemed intrigued by this.

  "That means that you made the correct choice in choosing me to serve you, my Lord." She gave an over dramatic bow, crossing one arm across her chest and the other behind her back.

  "Yes yes, of course I did." The robot nodded at this and watched her.

It appeared this Decepticon didn't know much about humans, but she didn't really mind. He also seemed like the type who'd enjoy having his ego stroked... Maybe she could try to have fun with this if she was going to be stuck here.

  "Did you have any more questions, my Lord?" 

  "Yes. There are more metal pieces sticking out of your fabric coverings-"

  "Oh these!" She pulled at one of the safety pins on her jeans.

  "Umm well these... The're medals! Medals of honor, they represent my skills." 

Starscream leaned down.

  "And what exactly _are_ your skills?" He asked, his voice suspicious.

She faltered. She couldn't exactly say she'd taken piano lessons and horse back riding for seven years. Or... could she.

  "I'm extremely swift, especially on ice or in water. I have been trained in riding four legged beasts on amazing journeys and I've won many contests displaying my control over the animals. I have also mastered the mechanics of a complex Earth machine that creates music."

  "On ice? In water? How could you possibly survive the conditions of either?" Starscream's eyes narrowed.

  "Will great skill, obviously. I was trained from a very young age. I could totally prove it to you." Cain grinned.

  "Perhaps you will, in the future anyways. I have another question for you first."

  "Shoot."

  "Why were you so quick to obey me?"

  "I, uh..." Cain considered her answer carefully. Fear. Fear was the only true reason. She was terrified and she didn't want to die. She would have done anything not to die and she still would.

  "Well, I know power when I see it. I'd much rather be on the winning side than the losing one! Especially if it uh, means I get to work under someone like you... Because I mean obviously you're strong and the one in control around here... It left an impression I... Guess." She was spouting nonsense and she knew it, but that didn't matter if Starscream fell for it.

Though she wasn't sure how much was a lie as it were.

  "Well that was very observant of you, and as you can see your dedication to obedience has left you in a much better position than the humans you helped hand over to us." A grin spread across the robot's face and suddenly all of Cain's confidence twisted into a sickness in her gut.

  "What exactly is going to happen to them...?"

Starscream moved across the room towards the door.

  "Shockwave will use them in his experiments, perhaps some will survive... Perhaps not." The door slid open.

  "I need to report to Meg-.. I need to go out. Stay put, I will return to give you your duties shortly." And he was gone.

Leaving Cain standing alone on the desk, without a thing to do or a way to get down.

Wondering about the people she may have helped send to their death. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> salt: he asks her about her piercings too and shes like "OH ONLY WARRIORS HAVE THEM IM AMAZING THIS ONE REPRESENTS AMBITION AND LIKE THE 20 PEOPLE IVE KILLED
> 
> conrad: what a piece of shit
> 
> salt: starscream is like humans r gross why did i want this thing
> 
> salt: flicks her off his desk
> 
> salt: she falls to her death
> 
> conrad: OH MY GOD


	4. Ethan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> conrad and i are really bad at thinking about whats happening in current chapters and really good at jumping into the middle of buttfuck no where in the timeline where everyone just fricks a lot
> 
> so i got distracted a lot while writing this chapter

The blast to the bunker had sent his head reeling, he'd been too close. His ears were ringing and it was suddenly getting awfully hard to breath. He'd barely understood that it was his sister grabbing his hand and pulling him towards a light that seemed to raining down on them. He stumbled up onto the platform that was offered down from a red giant. God, everything was blurry and he couldn't breath and his heard hurt. His sister dropped his hand and as soon as she did it felt as though the world underneath him had fallen away and he felt himself hit the ground before he had even realized he was falling. Then everything went dark. 

*

  "Ethan? Ethan wake up!" The voice called for him, desperate but somewhat distant.

  "Ethan- Ethan- please!" The voice seemed to be getting closer and closer... Until it seemed to be pulling him out of the darkness.

His eyes shot open.

The first thing he noticed was the grating ache in his head, second was the claustrophobic feeling of being crowded. When he moved to sit up the world spun, it felt like he was being shaken back and forth. Finally his eyes focused on the younger girl sitting next to him. His sister.

  "Kiera... What... Where are we? What happened?" He scanned around the masses of people, they were panicked and many were yelling. God, the volume really wasn't helping his headache.

Kiera toyed nervously with her stringy hair, looking around as well. Her eyes were puffy and his heart clenched as he easily recognized the tears that stained her cheeks.

  "The- The robots. The giant ones- they- we-" Her voice shook with fear.

  "Shh, okay its okay. It's going to be fine." Ethan pulled her to him, brushing his fingers through her long hair. So the robots had found them. That's why it felt as though the world was swaying... They were being carried.

  "I- I thought you weren't going to wake up..." Kiera whimpered into his neck.

  "I'm fine, I'm fine and you're fine. We're both going to be okay." He hoped that was true. Kiera was only thirteen, sure she was mature for her age but this... She never deserved this.

When the swaying stopped, Ethan pushed himself to his feet and shoved his way through the crowd to get to the edge of... whatever they were in. He pressed his hands against the glass-like material that made up the walls of the carrier they were in and peered upwards at the monstrous robots that held them.

  "-carry on without me I need to... Return to my chambers. Urgently." The tallest gray one was speaking, it handed a container full of people over to one of the others.

  "What, with the human?" The red one that appeared to be carrying his container said. Ethan noticed then, the gray robot was had a much smaller container hooked in his claws, just one kid trapped inside. They looked absolutely terrified; though he would be too if he was separated from the others. Shit... there had to be something he could do to help them. To help everyone.

Ethan smashed his fists against the walls of the container, testing its strength but it didn't give in the slightest. Kiera stood at his side, watching him nervously.

  "What are we going to do, Ethan?"

  "We're going to get out of here. I'm going to get you and everybody else out of here."

  "This technology is far beyond anything on Earth... Trying to escape would probably just get us killed..." A voice mumbled from behind him and Ethan whipped around to face a young man who flinched when he was addressed.

  "Yeah thanks, your negative thinking is definitely what we need here." Ethan snapped and the guy jerked his hands up into a defensive position. 

  "Sorry I was just... I was just thinking aloud." The stranger moved back into the crowd and Ethan's attention was pulled back to Kiera as the brunette tugged on his arm.

  "Ethan do you... do you think the girl the Commander took had the right idea?"

  "What do you mean 'had the right idea'? Wait- Commander...?" Ethan stared at his sister.

  "Well I uh- I was listening to them... While you were unconscious..." Kiera turned to look back out through the transparent wall and pointed up at the alien giants.

  "The taller gray one who just left was addressed as 'Commander Starscream' by the others. The two identical ones have been pretty silent so I'm guessing they're just cronies or something... I um, I'm not sure about the red one though."

  "Kiera, you're incredible." Ethan blinked and for the first time today he saw her freckled face light up in a smile.

Suddenly the world shook again and they stumbled as the red robot carrying their container leaned down and placed them on the ground.

  "W-What's happening?" Kiera grasped onto her brother's arm.

  "I- I don't know." He glared up at the robot as it leaned down, looking at them directly. Ethan shuddered. Not just from fear, but from anger. He slammed his fists against the wall again.

  "Let us out of here!" He yelled. He wasn't alone, almost everyone in the containers was screaming and begging to be let go. Not that he'd stoop so low as to beg.

  "Ethan- Ethan do-don't! You don't want to make it mad..." Kiera stared up in fear.

Finally the robotic alien spoke up, sleek voice demanding silence.

  "Quiet. I have an important question to ask of you and if one of you has a good answer, I might let you out."

The crowd hushed slowly but Ethan merely rolled his eyes. That was a load of bullshit. Kiera, however, was listening intently.

  "Do any of you know anything about cars?"

There was a second of hesitation as the question sunk in. Cars? What kind of question was that? Most people in here probably knew something at least. He had worked at an auto shop for the past three years and spent most of his time drawing the things but, of course, why the hell would he share this information with the monster that had taken them prisoner.  
The second after the breath of hesitation though, a small voice cried out in excitement.

  "He does! My brother- My brother knows everything about cars!" 

Ethan's head turned so fast it near snapped.

  "Kiera!" He gawked at her.

The robot turned it's attention on him and his sister.

  "He does, does he? And which one is your brother?"

  "Ethan! He-" Kiera froze up as it leaned in closer. In the instant of fear she caught her brother's gaze and realized her mistake.

  "H-He-"

The glance at each other was all the robot needed though. The black and red eyes landed on Ethan and he swore he felt his pulse stop.

  "You?"

  "I-I- No! I- Everyone knows things about cars it- it's nothing special."

  "Well, you'll do. You can thank that little one for volunteering you." Seconds later deadly claws were lifting the lid of the container and reaching in to snatch Ethan up from stable ground. He tried to run, he dashed into the crowd but when he saw those claws threatening the others in the container he stopped. He looked around wildly for his sister, who still stood by the wall, watching in horror. He cringed when he felt the cold metal digits wrap around his body and his stomach churned when he was lifted away from the carrier. He writhed in the robot's grasp and struggled to reach out for his sister in any way he could.

  "Kiera- Let me go! Let me go- Kiera!! Kiera! No!!" He shrieked as he was dropped into an individual container like the one he'd seen the Commander with earlier. He pressed himself against the transparent wall, hammering his fists against the sides until they bled, not letting his sister in the other container leave his sight.

  "Well you're certainly feisty." The robot chuckled as it picked up the first two larger containers, leaving Ethan locked up in the tiny carrier, perched against the wall.

  "I'll be right back, I just need to go drop these off." It stood at it's full height and began to walk towards the massive door ahead of them.

Ethan's eyes stayed glued to his sister as she was taken further away. She was crying. He could see her crying but she... She was smiling too. Her mouth opened to speak but she was too far away for her words to reach him.

His head pounded. His eyes burned. His stomach twisted and he was sure he would be sick.

  "Kiera!!" He screamed this time, scratching his nails against the sides as they disappeared beyond the door and he was left alone.

All alone.

He sunk to his knees, his breath coming out in uneven pants. No. This couldn't be happening again, not _again_. First their Mom, then they were seperated from their dad and older sister and brother- and then- and then when they found them... When they had finally found them it was too late. Now Kiera- Kiera was his last piece of home- his last piece of family and they had taken her away from him.

He let out a broken sob, beating his hands weakly against the glass. He felt so small. He couldn't let them do this. He would rescue her. He _had_ to rescue her, if it was the last thing he ever did.

*

It felt like hours had passed when the massive red robot finally returned.

  "Sorry for leaving you out here, Shockwave wouldn't have been very appreciative if he knew I'd taken my own pet from his test subjects." His container was lifted slowly and Ethan glared up at the alien with every ounce of hatred in his body.

  "Test subjects? They're going to be test subjects?" His voice shook as he spoke.

  "Don't worry I don't think Shockwave intends on purposefully killing them. Besides, he's got someone helping him whose especially fond of your species." The robot spoke casually, not the least bit effected by Ethan as it started walking down the corridor.

  "Let me go. Right. Now." He gritted his teeth as he stared daggers into the robot.

  "No can do, you're officially my pet. Besides, I don't plan on hurting you. In fact, I can guarantee you'll be living in better conditions in my care than you would be with Shockwave." The robot finally seemed to catch wind of the looks Ethan was giving it.

  "You're upset because that little human was your friend, weren't they?"

  "She was my sister." He growled, slumping back inside his cell.

  "Well, I'm sure you'll see her again. No point in worrying about it now. Anyways, what did she say your name was? Ethan?" 

He refused to respond.

  "Well, Ethan, you can call me Knock out. The finest mech in all of Darkmount, and possibly all of Cybertron." Knock out. What a ridiculous name. Ethan merely scoffed and kept his gaze on the direction they came from. Kiera...

They stepped into some sort of shaft and Knock out continued talking as they were transported down several floors.

  "Your duties will be relatively simple. You'll keep up maintenance and despite your size you may be able to help maintain my spotless finish. Your size may actually help add an extra shine to the hard to reach places..." Knock out said thoughtfully. Ethan continued to ignore him, every word the robot spoke making him feel sicker and sicker.

  "Your sister said you had knowledge of Earth cars, correct?" The Decepticon said as they walked off the elevator and down a short hallway to another massive doorway.  
Ethan didn't answer, curled up in his container with his knees tucked against his chest.

  "Ignoring me now?" Knock out punched a code into a keypad and the door slid open, allowing them to enter.

Ethan looked up only to look around the room but was shaken from his fetal position as his container was somewhat violently put down on the desk.

  "Do you have knowledge of automobiles or not?" Knock out leaned down to look at him directly and a fearful shudder ran through him. Those black and red mechanic eyes freaked him out.

  "Why do you care?" He stammered out, glaring at his captor.

  "Well seeing as I transform into an Earth car, it would certainly make you more useful. And the more useful you remain, the longer you stay alive." Knock out growled, flexing his sharpened fingers. Ethan's pulse jumped.

  "Fine then.. Yeah, I know some things..." He knew more than just "some things" but fuck telling this monster.

  "Good. Then I'm sure as long as you listen to what I say we'll get along just fine." One of those pointed claws came closer and tapped the release latch on the container Ethan was trapped inside. The ceiling shrunk in and collapsed into the floor along with the glass. He took a cautionary breath to find it breathable, and then stepped off the disk like floor of what was his cage. He quickly examined the room he was in. He stood on a large desk, though it was smaller than a slightly tilted surface that was off to the side of the room. Off to the left of the tilted metal sheet was a short hallway that seemed to lead into another room.  
He looked to the door he and Knock out had entered through and then glanced back at the robot. Maybe... Just maybe he could make it to the door. He'd need a distraction though...

  "So.. You turn into a car?" He asked slowly, testing out the metal under his feet.

Knock out had been watching him curiously and answered with a grin.

"Yes, one of the finest at that."

  "Oh really? And how would an alien know what a nice car is?" Ethan scoffed, stepping closer to the edge of the desk, staring up at Knock out; who seemed taken aback slightly.

  "Well, I have impeccable taste. I know an attractive vehicle when I see one." The red Decepticon huffed.

  "Oh yeah? Prove it, show me whats so special about the car you picked out."

Knock out gave an offended scoff before suddenly the pieces and parts of his robotic form were shifting and disconnecting and reconnecting and.. compacting.  
Ethan was momentarily caught off guard by the display before he remembered his own intentions. 

Before the robot had quite finished changing, he turned and bolted for the opposite end of the desk which was pressed against the wall. He ran as fast as he could, heart pounding as he reached the wall. He peered down over the side of the surface. There seemed to be a rim along the wall that lined the whole room. It was a few feet down from where he was; If he jumped right he could catch himself on it easy. So he did. 

He barely caught himself on the ledge, his knee slipping off the side and his nails digging into the metallic rim as half his body threatened to drag him into a free fall.

  "See, impressive enough for you?" He could hear Knock out speaking to him, the robot hadn't yet realized he was no longer up on the desk.

He dragged himself upwards, blood pounding in his ears as he slowly steadied himself up into a standing position. The ledge was about a foot wide, so he had enough space to safely shimmy himself along, but not enough to comfortably walk.

  "Stunned into silence, are we?" Knock out gave a rev of his engine and Ethan could now see the red sports car parked in the center of the room. Yeah okay it was a nice car, he'd give the evil alien robot that. Aston Martin if he guessed correctly.  
He shuffled along the rim, moving further and further away from the desk and closer to the door. Unfortunately this also meant into plain sight if Knock out happened to look in his direction.

  "Ethan?" The car rolled forward before it's frame was shifted apart and transformed back into the massive robot. Knock out searched the desk, obviously in shock that he'd been fooled.

  "You little insect.. Where have you gone?" The Decepticon searched around him and Ethan scrambled faster, seeing the door get closer. What was he even going to do when he reached the door? He couldn't reach the keypad... Or... Could he?

Finally there he was, right next to the towering doorway and just several feet underneath the keypad that was the key to his escape. He shuffled to turn around, facing the wall and jumping up to hook his fingers over the slight indents in the wall. They weren't large enough to catch his shoes on, but if he could just keep his grip... He managed to pull himself up a couple feet before everything fell apart.

  "There you are!"

Ethan let out a cry as his fingers jerked, grip slipping from his handhold. He scrapped his hands against the wall trying to catch himself but when he hit the ledge below his balance was long since lost, arm's pinwheeling as he fell backwards off the ledge and sped towards the distance ground.  
He twisted in the air, still lost with a shred of hope he might catch something that would stop him from falling.

Was this really how he would die? Plummeting to his death because he lost his grip? At least... At least he was trying to escape.

His heart clenched as the briefest thoughts of his sister flashed through his mind.

No- No he couldn't die yet- He had to save her!

The breath was knocked out of him as his back hit something hard, but it came quicker than he thought it would and... he certainly wasn't dead.  
He rolled onto his side, lurching as he struggled to breathe.

  "You pesky little... I can't believe you tried to escape. I hope you realize that even if you had managed to get out that door the first mech to see you would have had you immediately exterminated- Hmm... " Knock out's voice reached him, though his ears were ringing.

He suddenly noticed the massive claws that surrounded him and he shot into a sitting position. He was... He was in the robot's hand. It had caught him...?

  "Put- Put me down!" He gasped, catching his breath. Those claws closed around his body and he near screamed in defiance.

  "No chance. I just thought of a wonderful method to keep you out of trouble... Or at least help you see your place here." They were moving again, past the tilted desk and through the hallway into the second room.

Ethan's stomach dropped. This room was larger, equip with multiple tilted metal surfaces and many desks covered in drills and tools... Oh god... Oh god what was this?  
They approached a work desk and Knock out flicked on a light. Ethan couldn't see what the robot was doing, but he could hear the clicking of his claws against the different tools arranged on the desk.

  "W-What are you doing?"

  "Making some room for my next project." Before he could react Ethan was very quickly pressed face down against the cold desk surface. The sharp claws dug into his skin and he gritted his teeth and prayed he wasn't about to ripped apart.

  "Stay still if you don't want my servos to slip." Knock out growled and he felt those claws delicately hold his right arm out from his body. Ethan's whole body was trembling by this point, what was he going to do to him?

Suddenly one of those claws was tugging at the collar of his shirt and he froze. That was way too close to his neck for comfort.

  "What are you doing? Why won't you just tell me what your doing?" His voice shook with fear and he yelped as the claw tore through the sleeve of his t-shirt, revealing his right shoulder and part of his back.

  "Get the fuck away from me!" He screeched. He wouldn't let himself be messed with and experimented on, he'd rather die.

  "Hold still." The weight on his right wrist increased and his joints clicked in complaint, the pain causing Ethan to go stiff.

  "I'd much rather this be quick and clean, it'll make this much easier on you and less of a mess for me to clean up." The sound of something sizzling caught his ears and oh god his head was killing him and his lungs felt plugged and empty at the same time.

  "Alright now, think happy happy thoughts or.. Hold your breath or... Whatever it is you humans do." Ethan was only given seconds to dread what was coming before the burning implement was pressed into his shoulder, burning and melting away the skin underneath.

He couldn't even hear the scream he let loose.

*

He was so hot... He had felt as though his entire body was burning up. Then nothing. Now he still felt as though his right side was being dipped in boiling water, but the pain was less. Where was he? Had he fallen asleep in his Dad's chair again? That still didn't explain why he was so warm. Maybe only half his blanket was covering him? He shifted to roll over to reach for the blanket covering his right half, but was greeted with a hard surface pressing directly against his right arm. The hot pain that shot through him jolted him into awareness as he threw himself away from the surface, only to hit the other side of the container he was in.

He glanced around in fear, dazed and disoriented. Suddenly it all came back and his headache struck him nearly as hard as the burning in his arm. He remembered the heat and sizzling, it almost made him afraid to look. He swallowed his nerves and slowly turned his head.

Welted markings now decorated his shoulder and arm; red, swollen and crusted with blood.

The markings started with some sort of symbol that covered the back of his shoulder, and then an assortment of unintelligible characters that trailed down his upper arm, ending just above the elbow. They almost looked like glitched lettering. Ethan also noted that from the collar all the way down the right sleeve of his shirt had been ripped in half and left hanging open, but Ethan couldn't give enough of a shit to think about it much more. He slumped back against the side of his cage, careful to avoid any contact to his shoulder. He was trapped back inside the tiny container he had been carted here in... And Knock out was no where to be seen, but he he thought he could hear the sound of someone moving closer to the closed doorway.

He saw the doorway slide open and the massive robots wandered inside.

  "So this is where you work, is it?" The taller gray Decepticon was with Knock out. If he remembered correctly, it's name was Starscream.

  "Look Screamer, why don't you just leave the human with me and you can go... Run errands for Megatron or something?"

  "I'm not letting you go anywhere with this one with you Knock Out, no matter how much you beg. This human stays with me, as it is much better than yours is, I'm sure." Starscream growled, giving a wide gesture as it's eyes looked over the room.

  "Can you at least wait _outside_ then?" Knock out groaned and held out it's hand towards the silver robot as if asking for something... Starscream's hand rose as well and Ethan saw the transfer; the passing of another small container like his own. Holding the human he had seen with Starscream earlier.

  "Fine. But you better return it to me in one piece, and with the correct brand, or else it'll be your 'perfect finish' that's getting singed." The silver Decepticon sighed and reluctantly strutted back out the door, letting it slide shut behind him.

Knock out moved over to the desk Ethan was placed on and put the other teen's cage down next to his. The red robot noticed him suddenly.

  "Oh, finally awake are you? You were out for nearly an entire orbital cycle. Maybe Screamer's human can teach you a thing or two about obedience. " It spoke casually and gave the teen and smirk before tapping the latch on the other human's container. Once the glass walls had receded they stepped off the platform and looked around nervously. They had short pitch black hair and a head full of piercings and to be honest... Ethan couldn't tell their gender in the slightest. They had crazy light ice blue eyes that blinked over at him.

He then noticed Knock Out walking away and heading to the other room.

  "Hey- You're not going to let me out?" Ethan cried, hitting the fist of his good arm against the class.

Knock out barely glanced back.

  "I don't need to worry about that one trying to escape."

Ethan gawked after the robot and turned his gaze on the teen standing next to him and staggered to his feet. They were taller than him too. Dammit.

  "You tried to escape?" They asked with an incredulous tone. They didn't look scared in the slightest, they looked actually excited to be there.

  "And you didn't? These things took us against our will." He grimaced.

  "I came because I wanted to." They smirked, as if that something to be proud of. Ethan scowled and leaned against the side of his container that was further away from this freak.

  "Why- why would you do that?"

  "Lord Starscream promised to keep me alive." They shifted their weight, averting their gaze before giving a confident smirk up at Ethan and starting to circle him.

  "My name's Cain, what's yours?" They tapped on the glass absentmindedly.

  "I'm Ethan... What are you doing?" She was looking at him with this strange curiosity; he felt like he was a piece of prey being stalked.

  "Looking at you... It's kind of like being at a zoo, except instead of animals the exhibit is.. well, you." They said it with such a matter of fact tone that Ethan could only stare at them in shock.

  "W-What?"

They suddenly jumped back at the sight of his arm.

  "Eugh! What the hell happened to your arm? Looks like a dragon used it as a chew toy."

Ethan flinched and looked at his burnt and bloodied arm.

"He- _It_ did this to me. And It's probably going to do it to you too. That's why you're here." He slid down the side of his container again, tugging his knees to his chest.

Cain just watched him, that playful glint in their eyes fading as that sunk in.

  "What do you mean?"

The sound of metal against metal reached their ears as Knock out entered the room again, moving smoothly over to the desk.

  "See how nice it is to not be stuck in a containment unit? You should learn from Cain's example."

Ethan turned his back to the robot, but managed to catch the look of pride on Cain's face from the compliment. He felt bile rising in his throat. What was wrong with this kid?

  "Alright now hop on and come with me." He hear the light clinking of Knock Out's flexing claws behind him.

  "Where are we going?" Cain's voice came, but they certainly didn't sound like they were resisting.

  "Starscream had a special request... He wants me to mark you." There voices grew muffled as they entered the other room.

  "Mark me?" Were the last nervous words he heard before they were too far for him to hear their conversation.

He slowly turned around again, looking towards the hallway. He was starting to regret not trying to convince them to escape. Shit. He looked at the scarring on his arm. The same thing was about to happen to the only human he may see for a long long time... He should have... Said something. He clenched his fist but he was ripped from his thoughts seconds later, because finally he could hear something from the other room.

He stumbled back down to the floor as he tried to block out the blood curdling scream that ripped through the air. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> salt: starscream prolly wouldn't even put the fuckin decepticon symbol hed just put his name
> 
> conrad: KO WOULD DO SOMEHING showy and artsy 
> 
> conrad: like koujaku style down the arm
> 
> conrad: just imagine ethan; picks at his tattoo scabs while staring ko down


End file.
